Connection-Centered Networking

Learn Networking Skills to initiate conversations that create business opportunities.

This interactive networking training workshop develops skill needed to develop fruitful conversations that initiate potential business opportunities. The workshop examines the process, purpose and best practices to network effectively.

This networking skills program was developed by Gideon For-mukwai an award-winning speaker and best selling author. The program focuses on quality of connections, not quantity.

Networking Course Objectives

  • Empower professionals with strategies for connecting and developing social capital
  • Outline techniques that enhance the process without undermining purpose
  • Offer tools that facilitate the process of making a lasting first impression 

Course Outline

  • The art of “small-talk” and how to initiate it professionally
  • Developing likability and credibility in brief interactions
  • The 3Ps of networking that every professional must have
  • Situational awareness and networking with key influencers
  • 3 networking “tools” that help you make a lasting impression
  • Pre-networking preparation and planning: adapting to the weather
  • Networking across countries and cultures: how to hit a home run?
  • Online and offline networking etiquette: the good, the bad and the ugly
  • Online and offline networking success stories from 3 continents

Target Audience

This networking skills seminar is for Business and Sales Professionals who want to expand and improve the quality of their network connections.

Benefits of Network Development Training

  • Generate new business referrals
  • Identify future business opportunities
  • Increase in social capital and social net worth

 

Managing Up

Master Skills to Increase Cooperation and Collaboration with Bosses and Decision Makers

This highly interactive course allows participants to learn and practice proven techniques to develop highly effective relationships with their supervisors, decision-makers and peers. Participants discover how to obtain the best possible results for themselves and people they support.

Key Points:

  • Learn how to best to communicate with your boss

  • Develop a better working-relationship

  • Discover how to set more effective expectations

  • Learn tips and techniques to be clear about what you need and expect from your boss

Working successfully with the boss or multiple bosses requires exceptional people skills, time management, and diplomacy. This course is designed for individuals who want to learn effective techniques to communicate their ideas to superiors and decisions makers.

"Managing Up is not about telling your managers what to do. Rather, it's about understanding the boss’ work style and making adjustments to maximize the success of both you and the boss.”

Participants discover ways to recognize when their approach is not effective and how to change it to suit the situation. They learn to effectively learn to challenge assumed constraints and build a more collaborative relationship for improved results.

Participants will learn to:

  • Apply techniques to make a good impression - even if it's not a new boss
  • Assess their current relationships and take concrete actions to make improvements
  • Recognize what managers REALLY want from their staff
  • Effectively surface issues with a boss related to their relationship, status, problems and opportunities
  • Take steps that enhance the image of the boss’ and themselves
  • Manage personality differences that impact manager/staff relationships and effectively cope with “difficult” bosses
  • Manage their own professional success 

Competencies

Communication Skills; Conflict Management; Team Building; Accountability; Problem Solving; Partnering; Influencing; Interpersonal Skills 

Who Should Attend

Individuals who want to learn effective techniques to communicate their ideas to superiors and decisions makers

Training Format

Full Day, ½-day, Webinar

Managing Up Course Outline:

Assessing the Situation

  • Strengths in working with the boss
  • Identify areas for improvement

Managing Your Boss

  • Build a strong partnership
  • Clarifying priorities and needs –Theirs and Yours

Establishing Rules and Routines

  • The importance of establishing routines and systems
  • Last minute assignments
  • Redoing work unnecessarily
  • Tactics for removing nonessential surprises

Handling the Unexpected - When things go wrong

  • Techniques for effectively packaging bad news
  • Offering solutions

Presenting Problems or Opportunities

  • Gain the support
  • Get needed resources

Listening for Better Understanding

  • How to adopt "listening body language,"
  • How and when to ask questions to find out what the boss really wants
  • How to confirm understanding

Influencing the Boss

  • Flexing your style
  • Tailor your idea to your audience
  • Four steps to winning people over

Make Your Boss Look Good—Without Becoming a Sycophant

  • Delivering Messages to the Boss and for the Boss
  • Adapting messages to different styles
  • Choosing words that convey messages in the most appropriate way

Coping with Difficult Bosses

  • Turn your boss’s weaknesses into opportunities for you to shine by Amy Gallo 20
  • Coping with a Conflict-Averse – Making bad news bearable
  • Avoid Being Micromanaged
  • Keeping Your Cool with Tough Bosses
  • Coping with difficult situations
  • How to Give Your Boss Feedback … without putting your career in jeopardy

Managing Multiple Bosses

  • Juggle competing demands
  • Avoid getting caught in the middle

Getting Things Done

  • Setting Goals
  • Best practices for staying on top of the work
  • When and how to discuss an unmanageable workload with the boss

Building a Strong support system

  • A Smarter Way to Network
  • Build a strong support system for your next crisis or opportunity

Action Plan

  • Actions they plan to immediately implement
  • Maintaining a solid working relationship with the boss

We are ready to help your employees work effectively with bosses at all levels. Please contact us to speak with a facilitator about your needs and bringing training on-site to your organization.

 

Career Development Strategies for Administrative Professionals

Administrative Professionals Training

Onsite seminar develops essential skills for Executive and Administrative Assistants.

Learn skills to Take Charge; Influence Others; Increase Efficiency and Build Your Image.

This specially designed session develops essential skills to thrive in your personal and professional lives. You’ll develop new abilities to improve your image and expand your network… maximize your ability to influence others… increase your talent for taking charge… and advance your career in ways you never thought possible.

Whether you're interacting with customers, coworkers, subordinates or management, gaining respect, cultivating influence and taking charge of your environment are absolutely essential to your success as an administrative professional. In this important session, you'll focus on the key elements of influencing others, improving workplace relationships and maximizing results. Everyone will discover new approaches to foster collaboration and increase your ability to influence outcomes – even when you are not in a position of authority.

This lively, interactive onsite workshop equips participants with new knowledge, skills and techniques that can be immediately applied on the job.

Who Should Attend

Administrative assistants, executive assistants, office managers, secretaries, support staff and anyone responsible for coordinating, managing or being an effective member of an office team.

Training Benefits

This course, developed by Claudia James, helps administrative professionals at all levels create and maintain productive and efficient work environments as they improve their administrate skills and maximize career opportunities.

Overview of Concepts and Deliverables Provided

Session I—Personal Development: 

Take This Job and Match It! 13 Strategies for Career Development

  • Honoring yourself
  • Building your network
  • Respecting, serving and influencing others
  • Remaining positive in a negative world

 Session II—Professional Development: 

Ready, Set, Go! Taking the Super-Highway to Professionalism

  • Building self-confidence and credibility through assertive communications
  • Delegating and collaborating using creativity
  • "To Be or Not To Be" a conceptual thinker
  • "Setting Back the Hand of Time" by eliminating time wasters and procrastination

Course developer: Claudia James - Claudia is known for her creative and energetic style and as a gifted storyteller. Claudia is co-author of the book "Ordinary Women…Extraordinary Success," a book which brings together 19 women who share their own extraordinary stories to inspire, empower and advise others to reach new heights.

 

Getting It All Done in a Multi-Task World

Discover Time Management Skills and Strategies

In this highly interactive course, participants practice skills and explore time management tips and techniques to meet deadlines, cut down on time-wasting activities and interruptions, and reduce job stress to improve overall effectiveness. Everyone will discover new ways to better balance work, home and personal priorities. With a focus on handling multiple tasks and building better time management skills, this training is invaluable—especially in today’s fast-paced, deadline-driven work environment!

A proven training solution to develop skills to:

  • Handle multiple priorities

  • Meet deadlines

  • Eliminate time wasters

  • Reduce stress

  • Balance work and home

  • Improve overall effectiveness

Who Should Attend

Executives, managers, supervisors and all staff members who want to get more done with less stress and effectively balance work and personal priorities. This course is packed with tips and “how-tos.”

Training Benefits of this Time Management Course

  • Customize a time management plan for you
  • Increase productivity
  • Prioritize effectively with multitasks
  • Manage and control the number of crises
  • Reduce your stress levels
  • Balance work and personal priorities

Overview of Topics and Learning Points Developed

  • Assess your time management strengths and weaknesses
  • Establish goals that can be accomplished
  • Analyze where your time really goes
  • Identify your top ten time-wasters
  • Customize how a to-do-list can work for you
  • Implement a new strategy in prioritizing
  • Schedule your priorities
  • Master your work-space
  • Control interruptions
  • Discover your Time Mastery Profile
  • Prioritize in the “Age of Multi-tasking”
  • Let body language and assertive communication help you get more done
  • Double your productivity when you schedule a “Power Hour”
  • Reduce the number of “fires” you are putting out
  • Find time for you

 

Conquering Stress in Work and Life

Onsite workshop trains how to Deal with Stress

Learn skills and techniques to better handle stress

Manage stressful situations

Balance work, home & personal priorities

This onsite workshop trains skills and techniques for effectively dealing with stress and managing stressful situations. Participants learn skills and techniques to better handle stress, manage stressful situations, and discover new ways to balance work, home & personal priorities. 

We cannot eliminate all stress in life. And, in fact, some stress is beneficial. But understanding stress, the causes of stress and techniques to manage stress are essential to succeed in today's fast moving, ever changing world.

Everyone leaves this highly interactive and energizing workshop with practical tips and techniques to better deal with stress and improve their overall effectiveness.  

Who Should Attend

Executives, managers, supervisors and all staff members working in intense and stress prone environments. This course is designed for anyone who wants to get more done with less stress and effectively balance work and personal priorities.

Training Benefits of this Employee Development Course

  • Understand stress and its cause
  • Know how your style impacts your stress
  • Learn how to take charge and use proactive steps to be in control
  • Develop a clear perspective of priorities and values
  • Reduce your stress levels
  • Balance work and personal life

Overview of Concepts and Deliverables Provided

  • Learn what stress is and why it has value
  • Pinpoint the true causes of stress in your life
  • Make choices that help you manage stress
  • Use your style to cope with stress
  • Be proactive even when you are not the one in charge
  • Avoid the reactive trap
  •  Develop an awareness of your true values and priorities
  • Learn how to make good decisions to manage multiple priorities
  • Understand the emotional realities
  • Enhance the ability to be more mentally tough
  • Know what to do when all else fails
  • Identify how to put focus and balance in your life

 

  1. How to Develop a Collaborative Relationship
  2. Emotional Management - Essential Skills for High Stress Positions
  3. Developing Emotional Intelligence
  4. The Decision Making and Problem Solving Course